Wendell Berry in A Place on Earth describes the character Jayber Crow as one who was “vastly more inclined to learn than to be to be taught.”

“Wheat” Little Rock, AR/writer’s photo

This week’s Lectionary we are in Maccabees. Nothing like a war with Rome to get one’s blood going in the morning. As we are continually before the face of God, our community becomes our fellowship, what are we then to be taught?

James V. Schall, S.J., writes, “There are two basic points in intellectual curiosity. First, we need to have a desire to learn, to learn ‘with gusto.’ Without this, no one can do much for us. GK Chesterton once remarked there is no such thing as a boring subject; there are only bored people. Second, we need to be taught. Just as our inclination to learn is innate, our need to be taught is intrinsic to our nature and something that needs to be understood more clearly.”

It can take some time in getting where we need to go. In 1919, Dwight D. Eisenhower was sent by the War Department from Washington, DC to San Francisco. It took him sixty-two days by train, averaging fifty-eight miles a day at a speed of six miles per hour. It can also take some time in learning what we need to learn.

It is tempting to lurch towards Advent, but let’s not. Instead, let us approach as to the garden gate with our intellectual curiosity, our ‘harvest’ from Pentecost with the words of John of Damascus (650-754), “Let us knock at its gate with diligence and with perseverance. Let us not be discouraged from knocking. The latch will be opened.”

John of Damascus, An Exact Exposition of the Orthodox Faith [Kindle Edition]

About nashotahhouse

Located in Nashotah, Wisconsin, Nashotah House Theological Seminary is the oldest institute of higher education in the state of Wisconsin. Founded in 1842 by a Missionary Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Nashotah House belongs to the Anglican tradition of worship, theology and spirituality. That is, Nashotah House traces her roots to the Church of England and locates herself within the worldwide Anglican Communion.
Comprehending the fundamental disciplines of Holy Scripture, Theology, Church History, Spirituality and Pastoral Ministry, the curriculum at Nashotah House not only roots our students in the ancient wisdom of the Church, it prepares and empowers them to communicate the Gospel to the world today.